A new stadium in St. Louis’ Downtown West neighborhood has turned a freeway offramp and parking lot eyesore into a vibrant mixed-use development.

As well as staking its claim as a world-class home for the MLS club and St. Louis’ thriving soccer community, the newly named CITYPARK (formerly Centene Stadium), serves several other purposes. The new facilities were built to advance CITY’s goal of building the best academy and development system in North America while activating the growth of the Downtown West district. To accomplish this, CITYPARK needed to be utilized year-round. Anchored by a compact stadium that fits comfortably into its urban location, the district includes spaces for year-round community events, concerts, celebrations and a variety of outdoor activities.

The sleek form of the stadium features a simple flat portico along with tall, slender columns that frame the upper seating bowl. A canopy protects fans while also letting in daylight. Within the stadium, the exercise and shower areas all use linear drains from Infinity Drains.

Key to building the seating area was the effort to provide an intimate fan experience at every price point. No seat will be more than 120 feet from the field. The design draws people together to enjoy the game while creating flexible plazas that can host non-game day events including wedding receptions! Street-level vendors will have stands that face out to the city.